India UK

Taking a strong view of pro-Khalistan supporters pulling down the Indian tricolour at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India would not accept differential standards of security. He also accused the UK of not meeting the obligation of providing security to the diplomats of the Mission, which is expected of a country where a high commission or a consulate is located. On the flag and the security of the high commission, in this particular case in the UK whenever any country sends an embassy anywhere abroad, it is the obligation of the receiving country to provide security for a diplomat to do his work. "It is the obligation of the receiving country to ensure the embassy or the high commission or the consulate and their premises are respected. These obligations were not met, Jaishankar said at an event organised here by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya. Replying to a question on the issue of threat to the diplomats

The seventh round of India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) talks concluded following technical discussions across 11 policy areas over 43 separate sessions between negotiators from both sides here last month, the British government has said. In an outcome statement released on Monday, the Department for Business and Trade did not give any further details on the policy areas covered, but confirmed that the eighth round of talks is due to take place in a few weeks' time. On 10 February 2023, the United Kingdom and the Republic of India concluded the seventh round of talks for an India-UK FTA, the outcome statement reads. Technical discussions were held across 11 policy areas over 43 separate sessions. They included detailed draft treaty text discussions in these policy areas. The eighth round of negotiations is due to take place later this Spring, it said. As with previous rounds, last month's session was also conducted in a hybrid fashion, with a number of Indian officials travelling

He's visiting India to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting here and to mark a new scheme allowing young Brits and Indians to live and work in each other's countries for up to two years

India and the UK have agreed to make further progress on the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and also to swiftly organise the next bilateral Economic and Financial Dialogue soon, the British government said on Saturday. At the conclusion of UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's India visit for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held under India's 2023 Presidency, the UK's Treasury department said the finance minister held talks with Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman with a focus on deepening bilateral economic and financial ties. At a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both sides agreed to make further progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and deepen bilateral economic and financial ties, the Treasury department said in a statement. They agreed to make swift progress on setting up the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue, it said. Hunt, on his first international visit as UK Chancellor, also met with

"As per the UK government, BBC is an autonomous organisation and the even UK government is not owning up to it," said the official

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has sent its first-ever business delegation to India on Monday aimed at unlocking opportunities from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being negotiated between London and New Delhi. The industry body, which speaks on behalf of 190,000 UK businesses of all sizes and sectors, began a three-day visit covering Mumbai and New Delhi with some of the biggest names from British and Indian industries including HSBC, ICICI Bank, fintech firm Tide and wine and spirits major Pernod Ricard. The CBI said the delegation will focus on key growth sectors where UK and Indian business can develop profitable partnerships, such as innovation and sustainability. The UK-India relationship is going from strength to strength, so it is fantastic that the CBI is sending its first-ever business delegation to India, said Greg Hands, UK Minister for Trade Policy at the Department for International Trade (DIT). India is on track to become the third largest economy with a

The United Kingdom on Thursday expressed its greetings for India's 74th Republic Day with a personal message from the country's foreign minister James Cleverly to his Indian counterpart, Dr S. Jaishankar. UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly took to Twitter to wish his friend and the people of India on the celebration of the day India adopted its Constitution to become a Republic. Happy Republic Day to my friend Dr Jaishankar and the people of India. We look forward to another year of friendship and cooperation! #RepublicDay2023, tweeted Cleverly. The Indian High Commission in London held its customary flag-hoisting ceremony at India House on Thursday morning. The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, addressed the diaspora gathering to convey the speech of Indian President Droupadi Murmu. The Indian Constitution is a pretty remarkable document in itself. But also because it created at its get-go an equality of expectation among every citizen of India, regardless of race,

The free trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated between India and the UK has all the hallmarks of being a genuine global standard, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday. Addressing the annual India Global Forum (IGF) UK-India Parliamentary Lunch co-hosted by the Indian High Commission, the foreign minister highlighted the partnership between the two countries in the field of climate action and indicated plans to visit India in the coming months during its G20 Presidency. "On trade, we are well into the negotiations of what has all the hallmarks of being a genuine global standard bilateral trade relationship, because we have this wonderful bilateral relationship which I like to think of as unique," said Cleverly. "The similarities enable us to work so easily together, and the differences mean that we don't have that group think which so often hampers innovation India is really pushing at the front edge of green economic development and we are very, very keen to b

Britain's trade minister in charge of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India on Tuesday admitted the talks had hit a "bit of an impasse, which she broke by flying to New Delhi last month. UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the deal is now "back on track", in an apparent reference to the Diwali 2022 deadline for the FTA set by former prime minister Boris Johnson being missed last October amid political turmoil in Britain. Addressing Lancaster House in London in a speech laying out her Top five priorities for trade", the minister insisted that she was a problem solver at heart and is confident a "high quality" deal will be struck with India. "Some of you will know I was a software engineer and a systems analyst before I became a politician. That means I'm a problem solver at heart," Badenoch told the business gathering. "So when our Indian trade talks hit a bit of an impasse, I didn't pick up the phone, I got on a plane. That deal's not done yet, but it's back on trac

"With Canada, while they are also not much of a manufacturing base, we have to go into more details. With the UK, it's a manufacturing country on many products. So we have to do it very carefully"

The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to be clinched this year but it won't involve any boost of free movement visa offers for Indians, British trade minister in charge of the negotiations has said. Kemi Badenoch, who was in New Delhi last month to kick off the sixth round of FTA talks with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, said that former prime minister Boris Johnson's "deal by Diwali" deadline last year was not feasible and had to be changed. In an interview with The Times' recently, the UK Secretary of State for Trade also ruled out any major similarities between the FTA the UK had struck with Australia one of the first post-Brexit trade deals and that with India. "We left the EU (European Union) because we didn't believe in free movement, we didn't think it was working. This is not a deal that's negotiating some kind of free movement with India, Badenoch told the newspaper, with reference to more visa offers. The minister indicated a willingness to m

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra led the Indian delegation while the British side was helmed by Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

The MEA statement said that India and the UK share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with the adoption of Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations

Both sides discussed issues like trade and economic cooperation, defence and security, science and technology, people-to-people relationship, health and climate change

Both sides discussed issues like trade and economic cooperation, defence and security, science and technology, people-to-people relationship, health and climate change

All these issues require a lot of unanimity among the negotiating countries and these talks are complex exercises

The sixth round of negotiations between senior officials of India and the UK for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) will begin here on Monday with an aim to conclude the talks at the earliest, an official said. The negotiations are happening after a brief gap due to recent political developments in the UK. The last round of talks was held on July 29. "The sixth round of talks are starting from December 12," the official said. Trade in goods, including passenger vehicles, is one of the areas under the negotiations, which started on January 13, 2022. In a free trade agreement, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. The UK side is demanding duty concessions in the automobile sector. Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement is a high priority for both countries. He added that things are progressing well and it will yield good results. "We are all very well aware th

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the Indo-Pacific region. Delivering a talk Monday night at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet -- his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month -- the British-Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world. He also pledged to "do things differently" when it came to China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests. "Before I came into politics, I invested in businesses around the world. And the opportunity in the Indo-Pacific is compelling," said Sunak. "By 2050, the Indo-Pacific will deliver over half of global growth compared with just a quarter from Europe and North America combined. That's why we're joining the Trans-Pacific trade deal, the CPTPP, deliveri

Senior officials of India and the European Union (EU) on Monday commenced the third round of talks on a proposed free trade agreement, which aims at boosting trade and investments between the two regions, an official said. India's bilateral trade with the EU rose by 43.5 per cent to USD 116.36 billion in 2021-22. At present, the EU is India's second largest trading partner after the US, and the second largest destination for Indian exports. India and the EU on June 17 this year formally resumed negotiations on the proposed India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement, including the Geographical Indications (GI). The EU delegation is here for the third round of talks and the talks will continue till December 9, the official said. The second round of negotiations were held in Brussels. According to the commerce ministry, the trade agreement with the EU would help India in further expanding and diversifying its exports of goods and services, including securing the value chains. A GI is .

UK India Business Council MD lists four "Ps" to explains why he is confident the deal will happen